The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) ‎in its resolve to rid Nigeria of substandard products, has destroyed seven containers stocked with substandard cables, expired cosmetics, phone accessories, dangerous children toys and led lighting.

The Director General, SON, Osita Aboloma, said the move by the agency was to ensure that these goods do not find its way into the hands of the unsuspecting Nigerian consumers, pointing out that the substandard goods to be destroyed are live endangering products with no economic value.

Aboloma during the destruction exercise in Lagos, said the containers worth billions of naira were apprehended with the help of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), maintaining that both agencies have stepped up operations to declare war on substandard goods in the country.

In his words: “We are destroying these goods to safeguard the lives of Nigerians. We got over seven containers of substandard containers based on the strong collaboration with the NCS. We are embarking on war against substandard cables because they are live endangering products and also a drain to the economy. These substandard cables also prevents our Nigerian cables from being patronised.‎”

According to him, ‎another 16 containers suspected to be substandard have been handed over to the agency for mandatory test and conformity assessment, saying that they will be destroyed if found short of standards with the importers prosecuted.

He urged Nigerians to be standards vanguards, stressing that the fight against substandard products is a collective effort from every Nigerian.
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“We want every Nigerian to conform to standards. We want conformity in everything we do such as manufacturing, importation and distribution of products in Nigeria. This is why we are stepping up our efforts to separate goods that are not complying from the ones that conforming to international standards.
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“We will not stop in our resolve to prevent these goods from getting to the unsuspecting Nigerian consumers. It is a continuous fight and we urge the Nigerian public to be standard vanguards. This is not for SON alone to fight. If you see anything unwholesome say something to us or other regulatory agencies so that Nigeria can be a better place for us to live. The fact that we are creating an enabling environment for Nigeria businesses does not give people the right to flood our markets with substandard products.